by Stefanie Sciolaro

OSWEGO, NY- – On April 8th, Governor Cuomo announced that all public 2 and 4 year universities in the state of New York will offer a tuition free scholarship. The Excelsior Scholarship will allow middle class families, who qualify, to be exempt from paying for college tuition.

In order to qualify, a family’s adjusted gross income must be under $100,000 in 2017. By 2018 that number will go up to $110,000, and by 2019 the amount will increase to $125,000. These incomes will include all student, parent, or spouse incomes within the family.

Students must be enrolled full-time, already have 30 college credits, and continue to complete 30 credits per year, which includes summer sessions, while in college. Transfer students will be eligible if they, or once, they’ve met the 30 credit requirement. If the student loses the scholarship, for now, they will be unable to regain it, though there is an appeal process being put in place.

Once students who are receiving the scholarship graduate, they will be required to stay New York residents for the same amount of time they had received the scholarship in college. Christopher Britts, an education major at SUNY Oswego, is apprehensive of where the state’s getting the money to fund this and what the resident restriction entitles.

“Are my taxes or other college expenses going to go up?… Will they decrease the PELL or TAP grants we get? Because if so and I don’t qualify where does that leave me?… What if I get a job in Cali or Jersey, I have to say no? If so, I’d rather have the loans, then at least I’m free.” says Christopher.

Graduate students are not eligible for the scholarship, nor are students who have already completed an undergraduate degree and are pursuing a second.

Families will still be responsible for other expenses such as room and board, meal plans, and books, but the hope is for the Excelsior Scholarship to help relieve some of the burdens that families face in trying to pay for student’s college education. Financial aid will not be effected if a student receives the scholarship.

Christopher is also a team leader for Mentor Scholar, an after school program helping children with homework, and says this scholarship is good for younger children as well.

“Yes the scholarship needs adjustments and clarification but it really does give them a future to look forward to. Many of these kids come from low income families who before now, college was probably never an option…well now it is. As a future educator and current college student thats a beautiful thing to see.” Chris said.

This scholarship will go into effect and be available to students for the Fall 2017 semester. For more on the Excelsior Scholarship visit http://www.ny.gov, for SUNY (State University of New York) information visit https://www.suny.edu, and for CUNY (City University of New York) information visit http://www2.cuny.edu.

OSWEGO, N.Y. – The SUNY Oswego student that was arrested for raping another student two weeks ago has been formally charged. Adarsha Budhathoki was charged with third-degree rape, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and third-degree sexual abuse.

The incident was reported to University Police by the victim on Oct. 25. Budhathoki was arrested four days later. The two individuals that were involved in this case were acquaintances. It has been reported that there were no drugs or alcohol involved in this incident.

Budhathoki was a resident of Cayuga Residence Hall. The rape took place in Funnelle Residence Hall. He allegedly restrained the victim, not allowing her to leave the room. He also committed other sexual acts and consent was not given.

In response to the incident, an email was sent from SUNY Oswego President, Deborah Stanley, to the students. The email informed students what happened on campus and directed students where they can find more information about Title IX.

Re: Krystal Cole

Mighty Taco will be making an appearance again in Central New York.

Last Friday, Mighty Taco announced on Facebook that they will be opening a new location in Cicero, NY. The food chain will be taking the place of an old Tim Horton’s.

Mighty Taco is a Mexican style restaurant that started in the city of Buffalo in 1973 and it has been a fan favorite ever since it started and has spread out to, with the addition of this new location, 24 locations.

Mighty Taco is primarily based around the Buffalo area and western New York, and the new location will now be the farthest east of any of the other Mighty Taco locations. It is also the second time the franchise tried starting up in the Syracuse area.

The last time Mighty Taco was in the Syracuse area was when it had a location in Carousel Center, now known as Destiny USA.

Given the continuous growth, Mighty Taco believes they are now ready to take on the challenge of starting up in Syracuse.